Electrically heated drying oven for yarn impregnating machines



a Shecs-Sheet W. JONES ET AL QQN WQN v ELECTRICALLY HEATED DRYING OVENFOR YARN IMPREGNATING MACHINES H NNNQ E 8 P AQN New

Sgpt. 30, 1952 Filed June :50, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 JONES EI'AL YINGOVEN [/WENTOPE Wbszer Jones, deceased Andrews Jones lfdmrziszra frz xflfza r/z qy ELECTRICALLY HEATED DR FOR YARN IMPREGNATING MACHINES NNNQQN m. EN NNN N9 n NNN Sept. 30, 1952 Filed June 30, 1948 Patented Sept.30, 1952 4 UNITED STATE 2,612,589.); ELECTRICALLY HEATED iJ'RYING ovE'NFor:

Y'ARN IMPREGNATING MACHINES Webster J ones; deceased, late of New York,N. Y... by Mildred Andrew J ones, administratrix, New York, N. Y.,' andJohn J. Heslin, Waltham, Mass, assignors to Chemo-Textiles, Inc., a corporation of Rhode Islaiid 1' ApplicatinJune'30,1948; Serial-N0. 36,018 Iit Claims. (01. 219 -35) This invention relates to apparatuses-for-im-'-,

tion or suspension, followed byj heatingto dry and/or cure theimpregnating agent, for-exam ple by polymerizing it, after which theyarn is wound upon a spool for transfer. to point of ultimate use.Suitable impregnating agents, depending upon the purpose for which theyarn is to be used,'are rubber latex, partially poly} merized resins,preferably. of the urea formaldehyde type in aqueous solution orsuspensiom'cellulose derivatives in organic solvents, vinyls butyral orvinyl chloride in aqueous dispersion, copolymers of vinyl chloride andvinylac'etate in various ratios as solutions or dispersions,polyethylene in toluol or xylol, melamine formalde hyde and/orurea-formaldehyde in aqueous dispersion.

. The purposes for which the impregnation is applied include:

(a) Oil-or water resistance (2)) Abrasion resistance (c) Mildew andvermin resistance (d) Increased strength (e) To set the twist therebypermitting the use of the yarns spun with less than the usual amount oftwist I (f) Shrinkage control (g) Reduction of fuzz (71.) Control ofresidual stretch (2') Fire resistance In all these cases the heating todry and se or cure the impregnating agent must be done while the yarn isfreely suspended, since the result would otherwise be toqcement the yarnupon itself. Preferably the yarnis -f ed in invidualspaced-apart-forminto contact'with the impregnating agent, thence through the oven andthence to the winding spool. For economy of operation a numberof, yarnsin spaced apart form are usually fed through a common impregnating bath;thence through a common oven and thence to a winder containing a numberof packages upon which the yarns are individually wound. Thisinventionrelates particularly to the-oven for dryingandzsettingor'c'uring the impregnating agent and will be fully understood structionshown in Fig. 5.

from the following description read in conjunction with the drawings inwhich: Fig. ,1 is a diagrammatic longit dinal section through thecomplete. contacting, heating and winding apparatus}; Fig. 2isa-topiviewof 'part ofthe construction shown in Fig..1;"v a i Fig. 3 isa detailed vertical section through part of the construction shown inFig. 1;

Fig. '4 is 'a vertical section through the con-. struction shown inFig.-.3"on the plane indicated by:4'-i4.;' H Fig. Bisa detailed sideview, with parts broken away, of. the oven shown in. Fig; 1;

. Fig- 6 is" a vertical section-through .the e55- struction. shown inFig; 5 .on the lane indicated by 6-45;

Fig. "7. is a detailgof oneeleme'nt of theconstruction shown in..Fig; 6,andv Fig. 8 is a detail :of one elementofthe con-.-

-Referring,to-,Fig.l,the yarn I hated enters the-contacting apparatus 2,through guide 3, emerging after'impregnationat 9' to enter the dryingvQr-curing oven 1 I01, in=;which ityish'eated to temperature at whichthe solvent will be driven off and any desired change :in'

the-impregnating agent :produced. After drying or curing it emerges fromtheoven at, the point I00 to enter the winder I51 by which it isspooled.

Referring toJ'Figs. 2, 3 and 4 for a detailed showing of theimpregnating apparatus; tank 4 carries impregnating liquid 5,, whichisxcarried upwardly by roller .6, driven by shaft 1 project.-

ing through the sidewall of tank 4. Tankl is surmounted by anumber ofindividualqsections, such as l2 (Figs; 2 and 3),. These are preferablyformed of sheet metal and include vertically disposed side portion I3andihorizon tally disposed top portion l4 (Figs. 2,-3, and 4-).

Each section is mounted: at oint l5:for pivotal movement about shaft 16which is'c'arried. (Fig. 2) bybrackets l1 and 18, mounted. on flange I9securedto: side wall 20 of tank 4-. Each in dividual section 12 may be.independently tilted about the shaft l6 (Fig. 3) and the horizontalpor-tions I4 collectively form aroof or. cover over the tank (Fig. 2).Roller 2| (Fig. 3) is provided with the tire or rim- 2-2 of resilientmaterial, such as irubber, whichrides upon and..i's driven by roller 6.Roller 2 l ;-is*-,rotatably mountedonshaft 23 carried by bell arm 24?Bell arm 24 is pivotally secured to the si'de t3'oo'f section l2- by:rivet 25; the free end 26 of" .bell arm .24 lisgpivotallysecuredtotheirod 21; which mounted by stud 32 in side Wall I3 of section.

I2. Afteremerging from the bite the yarn passes through wire loop guide34 into the bite 35 between squeeze rollers 36 and 31. Roller 35' isrotatably mounted by stud .38 in side-wall I3 of section I2 whilesqueeze roller 31 is rotatably mounted by stud 39 in bracket 4| carriedby spring 42. The tension of spring 42 and there fore the pressurebetween squeeze rollers 30 and This , 4 sistance heater elements I2I.'As shown in Fig. 6, each of these is supported at either end by abracket, such as I22 or I23, secured at its outer end to one of theangle irons III and I I2, and

. projectinginwardly through the respective side wall of the oven. Theheater elements are mechanically secured to these brackets throughsuitable electrically insulated bushings I24.

The oven is relatively long and may, for example, have a length of from20 to 50' feet. For

the purpose of maintaining a uniform and controllable temperature withinthe oven, it was found that a spacin of the transversely extendingheater elements I2I of approximately 8 31 is manuallyadjustable by thetwo screws and 44 threaded into horizontal top portion I4 Upon emergingfrom bite 35 of of section I2. rollers 36 and 31 the yarn passes throughan additional squeeze provided by the two stationary cones 45 and 46 of'resilient material. Cone 45 is secured to theside wall I3xby bracket 41held in position by screw 48, while cone dfi is carried by bracket 5|pivotally mounted by stud 52- on side wall I3. The pressure betweencones 45 and 46 is adjustable by tension spring 53.,

As is evident from the foregoing, any one of the sections I2 may betilted about the shaft I6, thereby breaking contact between the rollers6 and'2I. While these are in contact, they draw yarn I into the bite 30between said rollersand thereby feed the yarn into the impregnatingapparatus. The tilting of the'section by breaking this contactautomatically stops the feed of the individual yarn controlled by theparticular sec tion. I

Theoven IOI, which is employed to heat the contacted yarn, to dry thesame and setor-cure the impregnating agent has sides I02 and I03 (Fig.6) formed of slabs of insulating material and a roof I 04'also formed ofslabs of insulating material and therefore defines an'inverted openbottom trough I05. Inasmuch as a'number of yarns are preferably fedsimultaneously through the oven, it is preferred to provide-a number'ofvertically oriented longitudinally extending fins I06 suspendedfromtransverse rods I01, carried in side .walls I02 and I03. Fins I06are held in spaced relationship by spools I08 encirclin rods I01 (Figs.6 and 7). These fins divide the trough I05 into a number of parallelopen bottom. channels I09. While four such channels appear in a brokensection shown in Fig. 6, in commercial practice a single ovenv mayinclude 50 or even I such individual channels. The yarn" I in freelysuspended form, is drawn through thecenter' portion of these channels bythe winding apparatus I I. The oven is supported by the longitudinallyextending angle irons-"III and H2 (Figs. 5 and 6)' which are in turncarried by the longitudinally extending upright I-beams H3 and IN. Forthe purpose of transmitting the load onto the angle irons I II and H2,the transverse rods I01 are extended through holes in angle irons IIIand H2 and secured in position by nuts H5 and H6. Each of the fins I06is provided at its lower edge with a longitudinally extending ofiset II!and with a channel-shaped stiffener 'I I8 to minimizewarpingv orbuckling. 1

Means is. provided for heating the interior of the trough I05 and whileany suitable heating means may be employed, we preferably use a numberof transversely arranged electrical recenters, distributed along thelength of the oven, is entirely satisfactory. In practice, the heaterelements I2I are subdivided or grouped into several individual circuits,each including several 2 resistor elements; each individual circuit isindividually controlled, for example, by means of a-thermostat operatingthrough an electrical relay switchinot shown) so that the heat inputfrom point to pointalong the length of the oven may be accuratelyadjusted to maintain a uniform temperature along the length of the ovenor, if desired, to maintain zones of longitudinally increasing vorlongitudinally decreasing temperature. Suitable temperature measuringdevices (not shown) are mounted at various points in the oven to apprisethe operator of the exact temperature obtaining within each part of theoven.

Referrin to Fig. 5, that part of the view indicated'by a.a is alongitudinal section through the construction shown in Fig. 6 on theplane indicated by a-a. As shown, the heater elements I2I are centrallysupported by the longitudinally extending strip I3I suspended from theroof I04 by the studs I32.

Referring to Fig. 5, that part of the view indicated by.bb is a viewthrough the construction shownin Fig. 6 on the plane indicated by bb,with azpart broken away to show the longitudinal construction of thefins I 06. As shown, these fins define a number of holes I33 adjacenttheir upper edges through which the rods I07 are passed and by which thefins are supported. These holes I33 are in the form of flat ellipses,the horizontal axis of which is considerably greater than the radius ofthe rods I01, thereby permitting the fins I06 to expand considerably inresponse to the applied heat without pressing horizontally against therods I01. Any such pressure would result in a longitudinal warping ofthe fins, which would in turn cause the fin to make a rubbing contactwith the yarn in passing through channel I 00 and by buildingv up adeposit of the impregnating material, would interfere with thesuccessful operation of the oven. Thefins are also supplied with alongitudinal open spacel3 i between the ends of adjacent fins, so thatthey may expand freely without interference withone another. Referringagain to Fig.5, that part of the figure indicated by 0-0 is a showingthrough part of the construction shown in Fig. 6 on the plane indicatedby cc. Y 4

As indicated in Fig. 5, the oven IOI is provided withend closures I35and I36 defining respectively apertures I31 and I38 through which theyarn I passes. r

With certain impregnating agents the temperature inthe oven need only besufiicient to dryout the solution of the impregnatin agent, leaving theimpregnating agent (within the fibers of the aeiaeso v yarn. With otherimpregnating agents a higher temperature is employed for the purpose ofsetting or curing the impregnating agents. Thus, for example,iwith animpregnating agent of the partially polymerized resin type, thetemperature applied is sufiicient to further the polymerization;resultingin the formation within the fibers .of a urea formaldehyderesin of the desired physical characteristics. v

:One advantage inherent in this type of-ovenis that it provides for a.very uniform and easily co-ntrolledheating of the yarn and moreoverpermits, if desired, of a gradual transition from on temperature toanother, depending upon the charac teristics of theimpregnating agentand the particular efiect desired. Another advantage is that if a yarnbreaks, it immediately drops by gravity out of the zone of heat, therebyautomatically preventing over-curing or burning, and visually apprisingthe operator of the particular yarn requiring his attention. Wherenecessary a device can be applied which will assist in lowerin the yarnout of the oven in such a case.

Preferably each yarn as it emerges from the oven (or some. othersuitable point) passes in association with a stop motion device, such asthat diagrammatically indicated by I52, including a vertical lever I53carrying at its upper end the wire loop I54 which rests lightly on theyarn and through lever I55 controls miscroswitch I56. The constructionis such that whenever the yarn breaks and lever I53 is no longersupported by the yarn, it will operate to close contact in micro-.switch I56, thereby causing electric current to travel through the leadsI51 and I58 (Fig. 1)

Referring again to Fig. 3, the horizontal top portion I4 of section I2is provided with upstanding stud 55 providedwith the projecting shelf 56secured between two lock nuts. The shelf 55 projects into the open jaw5'! of plate 58 pivotally carried by stud 6| attached to bracket 62,which:

in turn is riveted to the upright member 63. Plate 58 is normally urgedin the direction indicated by arrow 64 by means of the tension spring 65but is prevented from so doing by the latch 65 engaging end 61 of rod68, which is also pivoted to plate 58 at the point 69. The latch 66 ispivotally secured at the point II to the upright 63 and is alsopivotally secured at I2 to the plunger I3 of solenoid I4. Whenever thestop motion device I52 becomes operative and current flows throughthe-leads I51 and I58, the solenoid I4 is energized, thereby lifting thelatch 66 and permitting the plate 58 to move upwardly in the directionindicated by arrow 64. The same movement releases lever I5 therebyopening microswitch I6 and interrupting the flow of current throughsolenoid 14 until normal operation is re-established.

Whenever the stop motion device I52 is actuated by the breaking of ayarn, the particular impregnating section feeding said yarn willautomatically and immediately be tilted upwardly about the pivot pointI5 thereby instantly apprising the operator of the particularimpregnating section requiring his attention. Inasmuch as section I2 isopen at one side, the operator may,

merely by manuallytilting the section, still fur-' ther expose the guideand roller mechanism and, if necessary, rethread the yarn within theimpregnating device in the matter of a few seconds.

The foregoing description is for purposes of illustration and not oflimitation and it is therefore our intention that the invention belimited only by the appended claims or their equivalents .said roof.

wherein it has been endeavoredto claim. broadly all inherent novelty; 1'weclaimz 1. In apparatus for. impregnating? yarns. :and

the like 'ofr'the type including means. for. OOH.

tacting yarns with an impregnating liquid adaptedto simultaneouslyimpregnate a number of yarns supplying impregnated yarns to one end of aheating oven and yarn winding means at the other end 'ofsaid oven, the.improvediform of oven for such apparatus comprising sides. anda roofdefining an inverted, "open bottom trough,:a-number 0f longitudinallyextending, vertically oriented'fms in said trough dividing said troughinto a number of parallel open .bottom-channels-and meansflfor heatingthe interior-"of said "trough, said fins being-.foimiid as strips-ofsheet material carried adjacentotheir upper marginsbjtransverslyextending rods passing through oversized holes formed in said strips.

2. The improvement according to claim 1 in which the means for heatingcomprises electrical resistance heaters horizontally mounted beneath 4.The improvement according to claim 1 in I which said strips are providedwith longitudinally extending channel shapedstiffeners adjacent theirlower edges.

5. In apparatus for impregnating yarns and the like of the typeincluding means for contacting yarns with an impregnating liquidoperatively connected to an oven for curing such impregnated yarns, theimprovement comprising a curing oven consisting of sides and a roofdefining at least one horizontally disposed, inverted, open bottomedtrough, means for heating the interior of said trough, means for feedingyarns from said means for contacting into one end of said trough, andmeans for winding cured yarn at the other end of said trough, saidfeeding and winding means being substantially on the same lever, wherebysaid impregnated yarns move through said trough in a substantiallyhorizontal path, and in the event of breakage, the free endsautomatically drop out of the zone of heat. I v

6. Improvement according to claim 5 in which the means forheatingcomprises electric resistance heaters horizontally mountedbeneath said roof.

'7. In apparatus for impregnating yarns and the like of the typeincluding means for contacting yarns with an impregnating liquid adaptedto simultaneously impregnate a number-of yarns, operatively connected toan oven for curing such impregnated yarns, the improvement comprising acuring oven consisting of sides and a roof, a number of longitudinallyextending, vertically oriented fins extending in a substantiallyhorizontal path, and in the improvement according to claim 1 com- 8.Improvement according to claim 7in which the-means for heating compriseselectric resistance heaters horizontally mounted'beneath said r0012- 9.Apparatus according to claim-.7 in which said fins are formed as stripsof sheet material carried adjacent their upper margins by transverselyextending. rods passing through oversized holes formed in said strips.

10. Improvement according to claim 9 in which the means for heatingcomprises electric resistanceheaters horizontally mounted beneath saidroof. l l

Administfatna: of the Estate of Web'ster'Jones,

Deceased; .7 r

' JOHN J.

MILDRED ANDREWS JONES REFERENCES CITED The following references are ofrecord in the file of this patent: v

UNITED STATES PATENTS a Date Number Name 35,262 Rhodes ;May 13, 18621,214,998 Byrd Feb. 6, 1917 2,077,492 Ritzert Apr. 20, 1937 2,159,222Newton et a1. May 23, 1939 2,354,658 Barber Aug. 1, 1944 2,426,415

Rose Aug 26, 1947

